Ortenberg settled a multi-year contract, he told me. He comes off a successful release–surprisingly so–of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds. While he wouldn’t comment on his departure beyond saying it was amicable, my hunch is: the guy saw nowhere to go but down–TWC is under restructuring, with a recent round of further layoffs, and serious financial duress. Why not go out looking good? UPDATE: Meanwhile the Weinsteins’ Precious suit was dealt a setback.

Here’s Ortenberg’s official statement:

I asked for and was granted a release from my contract with The Weinstein Co. My last day with the company will be September 30th. I want to thank Bob and Harvey for the terrific opportunity they gave me this past year, and I am particularly proud of my collaboration with them and the incomparable Quentin Tarantino on Inglourious Basterds which has truly been one of the highlights of my career. I will have an announcement about my plans in the near future.

based on how IB played at cannes, i thought it was a long cinephile fantasy. i quite liked it–especially the revised standard version. but i expected it to top out at $50 million. I was wrong! it had much wider appeal. also twc and ortenberg marketed the hell out of it.